Okazaki: India’s Chikitha Taniparthi missed out on a third medal at the 2026 Asian Games after suffering a narrow defeat in the quarter-finals of the women’s individual compound archery event on Thursday.

Chikitha, who had already won gold medals in the women’s team and mixed team compound events, lost 143-144 to Indonesia’s Nurisa Dian Ashrifah in a closely contested last-eight encounter at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square.

The Indian archer had entered the individual event after an impressive run in the team competitions on Wednesday. However, she could not reproduce the same consistency in the quarter-final and bowed out of contention for an individual medal.

Chikitha loses by a single point

The quarter-final was decided by just one point, with Ashrifah securing a 144-143 victory.

Chikitha struggled to establish an early advantage as the Indonesian archer took the opening two ends. The scores in the five ends were 29-30, 29-30, 29-29, 29-26 and 27-27 in favour of Ashrifah.

Chikitha managed to win the fourth end 29-26 and appeared to have an opportunity to make a late comeback. However, the match remained tight in the final end, with both archers scoring 27 points.

The decisive moment came with Chikitha’s first shot of the fifth end. An eight-point shot proved costly at a crucial stage of the contest and ultimately prevented the Indian from overturning the deficit.

Two gold medals already secured

Despite the quarter-final exit, Chikitha has enjoyed a highly successful Asian Games campaign.

On Wednesday, she was part of the Indian women’s compound archery team that successfully defended its Asian Games gold medal. Chikitha teamed up with Prithika Pradeep and Jyothi Surekha Vennam as India defeated China 238-234 in the final.

Chikitha then added another gold medal in the compound mixed team event alongside Sahil Jadhav. The Indian pair defeated South Korea in a dramatic shoot-off to secure the title.

The two victories meant Chikitha arrived at Thursday’s individual event with an opportunity to complete a hat-trick of gold medals.

Her run in the individual competition began with a 149-140 victory over Bhutan’s Dolma Dorji in the round of 16. She then advanced past Chinese Taipei’s Chen Yi-Hsuan in the round of 16 after the two archers finished level at 148, according to the Asian Games results listed by NDTV.

Individual medal bid ends in quarter-finals

The defeat against Ashrifah brought Chikitha’s individual campaign to an end before the semi-finals.

Although she could not add an individual medal, her two gold medals remain significant contributions to India’s compound archery campaign at the Asian Games.

India have continued to perform strongly in compound archery during the Games, with the country’s archers collecting gold medals across the team and mixed team events. Chikitha’s performances have been an important part of that run.

The individual event, however, presented a different challenge, with every end carrying greater importance in the elimination format.

Ganesh Mani Ratnam in men’s quarter-final

India’s compound archery campaign was not over on Thursday, with Ganesh Mani Ratnam Thirumuru scheduled to compete in the men’s individual quarter-finals later in the day.

Ganesh was set to face Chieh-Lun Chen of Chinese Taipei at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square. The Indian archer was looking to continue India’s strong showing in the individual compound events.

The Asian Games schedule listed Ganesh’s quarter-final for later on Thursday, followed by the semi-finals and final if he progressed.

Chikitha’s Asian Games campaign

Chikitha’s individual exit means she will finish the 2026 Asian Games with two gold medals from the compound team events.

Her women’s team victory came alongside Prithika Pradeep and Jyothi Surekha Vennam, while the mixed team gold was won with Sahil Jadhav. The two titles came within a day of each other and underlined India’s strength in compound archery at the Games.

The narrow quarter-final loss also highlighted how small margins can determine the outcome in individual compound archery. Chikitha was just one point away from extending her campaign into the semi-finals, but Ashrifah held her nerve to secure a place in the final four.

For Chikitha, the individual medal opportunity has ended, but her two gold medals make her one of India’s successful performers in the archery competition at the 2026 Asian Games.